Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue’s messy hair and the blood at the corner of his mouth, slowly lowering him from his embrace.
“I’m sorry.” Cheng Yue lowered his head, feeling defeated.
“I… he insulted my mom.”
Ji Xu didn’t say anything. He reached out, tidied Cheng Yue’s hair, and wiped the blood from his mouth.
Just as Cheng Yue thought Ji Xu wasn’t angry anymore, Ji Xu’s hand slowly moved to his collarbone, where there was a wound. Ji Xu happened to press right on it.
Cheng Yue winced in pain and tried to move away, but couldn’t escape.
“Does it hurt?” Ji Xu gently rubbed the slight bloodstain on Cheng Yue’s collarbone with his fingertip.
Cheng Yue frowned, was about to say something, when Tan Minmin suddenly cried out.
“Si Wei! Si Wei!” Tan Minmin, who had collapsed on the ground, saw Liang Si Wei among the crowd and, feeling like she had found support, began crying uncontrollably.
Ji Xu followed Tan Minmin’s gaze and, as soon as he locked eyes with the man, Liang Si Wei instinctively took two steps back.
Seeing this, Tan Minmin cried out even louder.
Ji Xu hid Cheng Yue behind him, his expression particularly grim.
He hadn’t expected to encounter Liang Si Wei so soon.
“Who is he?” Cheng Yue, finding the name familiar, peeked out from behind Ji Xu to look at the man.
“Si Wei, come look at Wenwen!” Tan Minmin cried, holding the unconscious Tan Wenwen and gasping for breath.
But no one expected this:
When Liang Si Wei saw that Cheng Yue was with Ji Xu, he turned and left.
Tan Minmin, seeing this, stopped crying suddenly, looking at Tan Wenwen in her arms with confusion.
At this moment, Cheng Yue finally remembered the person named Si Wei.
He had seen this name in a document in Ji Xu’s study—wasn’t he Tan Minmin’s boyfriend?
After Liang Si Wei left, Ji Xu looked at Tan Minmin, who was still stunned on the bathroom floor, and took out his phone to call Tang Jing.
When Tang Jing arrived and saw the chaos, he quickly cleared the onlookers from the bathroom and looked at the bewildered siblings sitting in the bathroom.
Tang Jing knew about the incident and was aware that Ji Xu had been dealing with it for a while, but he didn’t expect such a direct confrontation to happen so quickly.
Ji Xu checked Cheng Yue’s condition, saw he was fine, and let him leave the bathroom first.
“What happened? Did they just start fighting?” Tang Jing looked at the unconscious Tan Wenwen.
“Should we call 120?”
“He won’t die.” Ji Xu looked at the two people on the floor, squinting, and lowered his voice. “Take them to the hospital. Find someone to keep an eye on Tan Minmin. Don’t let her go looking for Liang Si Wei.”
“Got it.” Tang Jing nodded and directed the security to lift Tan Wenwen and help Tan Minmin out of the bathroom.
After seeing the security take the two away, Tang Jing noticed Tan Minmin’s state and thought something was off. “Does she really have psychological issues?”
“It’s not serious. What she says and does still have legal implications,” Ji Xu said, picking up the phone that had fallen on the ground.
Tang Jing was puzzled by this. “What are you planning to do?”
“What can I do?” Ji Xu took out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped the phone. “As a lawyer, what can I do? I can only try to get them the longest possible sentence.”
Tang Jing: “…”
Tang Jing was silent for a moment, then patted Ji Xu’s arm. “Don’t worry. All the ‘beasts’ in our law firm are at your service. You point, and we’ll bite.”
Cheng Yue, who initially felt fine, started to experience pain everywhere after sitting by the bathroom wall for a while. The fire in his mind subsided, but his whole body ached.
Especially his stomach.
It hurt when he stood straight, and it hurt more when he bent over. Cheng Yue could hardly bear it and didn’t dare to lift his t-shirt to check because he thought it would hurt even more. Ignorance was bliss.
Hearing footsteps coming out of the bathroom, Cheng Yue wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up straight.
“It’s already started. The painting is in the latter half, so we should be able to make it on time,” Tang Jing said as he came out, giving Cheng Yue a thumbs up. “The painting is really beautiful. I haven’t seen it, but the appraisers said it’s quite high quality.”
Cheng Yue smiled and unconsciously puffed out his chest.
Ji Xu handed the cleaned phone to Cheng Yue. “Let’s go.”
Cheng Yue took the phone, feeling a bit nervous seeing Ji Xu’s calm face. However, Ji Xu didn’t scold him or give him a fierce look.
In fact, Ji Xu’s lack of reaction made Cheng Yue more anxious than usual.
When they entered the hall and took their seats, Cheng Yue’s painting was being showcased on stage. The host was halfway through introducing it.
“This next painting was donated by Lawyer Ji Xu. The artist is…”
As the host unveiled the white cloth covering the painting, the lights shone down, making it hard for Cheng Yue to see what was depicted.
The audience could only vaguely see rich, warm colors dominating the painting.
As the host continued introducing, Ji Xu adjusted to the light and saw the painting clearly.
It was a canvas filled with countless sunflowers. Even from afar, the audience could sense the vibrant life and warmth of the painting.
“Do you remember that when you took me to see those children last time, one of them outside the door was holding a big sunflower, which startled me,” Cheng Yue leaned closer to Ji Xu and said quietly. “I think they’re all like little sunflowers, and you’re their sun.”
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue’s smiling face and couldn’t help but smile as well. At that moment, he felt Cheng Yue was actually a very good kid, filled with sunflowers in his heart. It was easy to smile with him and to feel his warmth.
The children they had rescued were usually very cautious. When Ji Xu first interacted with them, communication was very difficult, but it improved over time.
After experiencing harm, people often build walls of defense and indifference like castle fortifications.
But those children seemed to easily accept Cheng Yue.
It was strange but also seemed reasonable—children are often the most perceptive of genuine kindness.
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Yue noticed Ji Xu’s silence and shifted uncomfortably. “Are you still angry?”
Ji Xu patted his head, sighed, and said nothing.
Throughout the auction, Cheng Yue didn’t hear a single word from Ji Xu.
On the way home, Cheng Yue endured his discomfort until the car stopped outside their apartment. He finally spoke up. “Don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to fight. He insulted my mom, and I was planning to find you, but I just couldn’t hold back…”
Ji Xu frowned and looked at him. “You still don’t understand what you did wrong.”
Cheng Yue’s eyes brightened when Ji Xu finally spoke to him.
But he quickly focused on the essence of Ji Xu’s words, his mouth opening in confusion and his expression turning blank.
“I’m not angry because you fought,” Ji Xu said seriously, looking him in the eye.
“I’m angry because you acted recklessly without being sure you could finish him off. If you’re going to stomp on someone, you need to do it to the point where they can’t get up. Otherwise, if you give them a chance to breathe, they’ll annoy you like a fly.”
Cheng Yue looked puzzled. He seemed to understand but also didn’t.
“Forget it,” Ji Xu sighed. “You’re fine as you are.”
“Are you still angry?” Cheng Yue asked quickly.
“Alright, you go up first,” Ji Xu said, pinching his brow. “I have more to deal with. Go to bed early; you still have school tomorrow.”
Cheng Yue saw the fatigue on Ji Xu’s face, frowned, and got out of the car. “Drive safely.”
“Mm.” Ji Xu said. “There’s food in the fridge. Heat it up in the microwave.”
“Okay.” Cheng Yue nodded, and once the car drove away, he crouched down slowly, his face showing the pain he couldn’t hide.
Damn it, Tan Wenwen’s beating hurt too much.
Why didn’t I crush that bastard!
After receiving news from Tang Jing about Tan Minmin’s hospital, Ji Xu drove over.
As soon as he got out of the car at the hospital entrance, Tang Jing came up to him, holding the documents Ji Xu had initially asked him to bring and handed them over while explaining. “This is from your office. Tan Wenwen hasn’t woken up yet. The initial diagnosis is a mild concussion. Tan Minmin keeps wanting to find Liang Si Wei, but I stopped her. She’s been crying inside.”
“Thank you for your hard work.” Ji Xu smiled as he took the thick stack of documents. “You can head back now.”
“Don’t mention it.” Tang Jing said with a click of his tongue. “I’ll be going now.”
—
After finding the hospital room upstairs, the two security guards at the door, who worked for their company, saw Xu Ji Xu arriving. One of them smiled and opened the door for Xu Ji Xu, saying, “Lawyer Xu.”
Xu Ji Xu thanked him with a smile and then stood at the door of the hospital room, looking at Tan Wenwen, who was lying on the bed and clearly still unconscious, and then at Tan Minmin, who was sitting by the bedside and crying.
“Are you having nightmares every day?” Xu Ji Xu walked over.
Tan Minmin quickly looked up at the sound. When she saw it was Xu Ji Xu, she suddenly stood up, “Let me out! Do you know this is illegal?”
“Talking to me about the law?”
Xu Ji Xu raised an eyebrow and sat down on a chair, “You’ve been threatening, intimidating, and blackmailing Cheng Yue. How many sentences do you think I can give you?”
Tan Minmin was stunned and began crying again, “What can I do? This has nothing to do with me! I just wanted to scare him back to America!”
“Why scare him back to America? Isn’t it because you’re feeling guilty?” Xu Ji Xu leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table.
“No!” Tan Minmin shouted as if struck by a painful spot, “I didn’t do it! Why should I feel guilty?”
“Then who did it?” Xu Ji Xu smiled.
“…It wasn’t me,” Tan Minmin’s eyes shifted nervously, “Let me out. This has nothing to do with me. Even if you call the police, it won’t help.”
“It was Liang Siwei, wasn’t it?” Xu Ji Xu leisurely adjusted his tie.
Tan Minmin was taken aback and quickly denied, “It’s not him, it has nothing to do with him.”
Xu Ji Xu looked at her and scoffed, “You’re quite loyal.”
“What do you mean?” Tan Minmin was confused.
“Recently, Liang Siwei has been involved with a female college student. She’s younger and more attractive than you. Didn’t you know?”
Xu Ji Xu pressed, noticing her growing panic, “And that house you live in has long been registered under Liang Siwei’s name. He must have reduced the monthly payments. Can you guess when he’ll kick you out of that house?”
“You’re lying!” Tan Minmin stood up abruptly from her chair before Xu Ji Xu could finish.
“Do you know the basic professional ethics of a lawyer?” Xu Ji Xu stood up with a smile and slammed the stack of documents, which Tang Jing had just delivered, onto the table, “We usually speak with evidence.”
Tan Minmin, trembling nervously, glanced at Xu Ji Xu several times with a mix of disbelief and suspicion. She slowly reached out to pick up the scattered documents from the table and examined them carefully.
While Tan Minmin was looking through the documents, Xu Ji Xu checked his watch. It was almost eight o’clock.
After looking at the documents, Tan Minmin surprisingly calmed down and stopped shouting. She only trembled slightly as she took out her phone from her pocket.
She dialed Liang Siwei’s number.
Xu Ji Xu didn’t stop her and turned to look out the window.
“Hello, Siwei.” Tan Minmin slowly sat down in a chair.
“What’s wrong?” Liang Siwei’s voice was noisy on the other end but quickly became quieter, “Didn’t I ask you to stop calling me so much? I’m very busy!”
“Why did you leave today? I called you several times,” Tan Minmin said, tears welling up, “Wenwen has a concussion. Why didn’t you come to help me?”
“Help you? You should look at who you’ve provoked. Are you crazy, messing with him?”
Liang Siwei scolded in a low voice, “If Cheng Yue came back and you told me you were having nightmares every day, I would have sent someone from my company to help you scare him. But you didn’t tell me he had an uncle!”
“What do you mean you’d help me?” Tan Minmin yelled, “You were the one who said Cheng Yue wouldn’t leave America. I suggested scaring Cheng Yue! Now you’re blaming me? What if he has an uncle? What can we not…”
“What can we not do?”
Liang Siwei sneered and interrupted her, “If his uncle finds out what we did, he could sue us to the point of bankruptcy. Your little studio will be gone too.”
“Have you recently been involved with a female student…” Tan Minmin’s voice trembled.
“Why are you always focusing on these things? Don’t I need to work and socialize?” Liang Siwei, annoyed, hung up the phone.
Xu Ji Xu, standing by the window, heard the call end and sneered quietly, cursing fool under his breath.
But the fool was just right for his plans.
Tan Minmin, looking at the substantial pile of documents on the table and listening to the disconnected phone call, finally, after all the nightmares Cheng Yue brought her, wiped her tears and turned to look at Xu Ji Xu, who was standing with his hands behind his back. She made up her mind, “What do you want me to do…”
After eating a little, Cheng Yue’s stomach still hurt too much. He put the barely touched food back in the fridge and lay down on the bed.
After lying there for a while, Cheng Yue started criticizing himself for being impulsive as always, with no progress.
When he got angry, his eyes turned red, and he felt like a transformed Hulk.
Xu Ji Xu was like…
Ugh…
Cheng Yue quickly interrupted this terrible thought and, struggling, looked at the time. It was almost nine o’clock.
Xu Ji Xu should have been free today, but because he had to handle so many issues late at night and was so angry that he didn’t even want to speak.
The more Cheng Yue thought about it, the more he felt sorry for Xu Ji Xu. He grabbed a pillow and covered his face, feeling distressed.
He wanted Xu Ji Xu not to be angry and wanted to make him happy.
But Cheng Yue couldn’t think of any way to cheer Xu Ji Xu up. Xu Ji Xu didn’t seem to have any favorite foods or hobbies.
Time passed slowly.
Suddenly, an idea flashed in Cheng Yue’s mind. He quickly removed the pillow from his face and sat up.
He looked hesitantly toward the corner of the wardrobe.
At the clothes he had bought and never used…
Author’s Note:
Cheng Yue, looking at the fire pit: “Ah~ It looks so fun, I should jump in and play.”
Getting into the fire pit myself!
Xu Ji Xu: “One wrong move and I’ll send you to prison. Are you scared?”
